TY  - JOUR
PY  - 2020//
TI  - SUDEP among young adults in the San Diego County Medical Examiner Office
JO  - Epilepsia
A1  - Karlovich, Esma
A1  - Devinsky, Orrin
A1  - Brandsoy, Michael
A1  - Friedman, Daniel
SP  - ePub
EP  - ePub
VL  - ePub
IS  - ePub
N2  - Excess mortality due to epilepsy is greatest among young adults. However, the relative proportions of sudden unexpected death in epilepsy (SUDEP) and other epilepsy-related causes of death are not well defined. We prospectively adjudicated cause of death in all 18- to 45-year-olds with a history of seizure/epilepsy who underwent medicolegal investigation in San Diego County between 2014 and 2017. We identified 108 decedents with definite or probable epilepsy; 62% died from an epilepsy-related cause. SUDEP accounted for 42.6% (N = 46) of deaths, which were usually unwitnessed deaths, at home in bed. Other frequent causes of death were drug overdose (N = 23), suicide (N = 8), trauma (N = 8), and drowning (N = 6). SUDEP autopsies were similar to those of decedents from other causes. Most deaths in young adults with epilepsy that undergo medico-legal investigation are epilepsy-related, and SUDEP is the leading cause. Improved seizure control can potentially save many lives.<br><br>Wiley Periodicals, Inc. © 2020 International League Against Epilepsy.<p />  <p>Language: en</p>
LA  - en
SN  - 0013-9580
UR  - http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/epi.16443
ID  - ref1
ER  -